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[19]

The occasion of the journey of Lycurgus to Crete is
said by the inhabitants to be as follows. The elder brother
of Lycurgus was Polydectes, who, at his death, left his wife
pregnant. Lycurgus reigned in place of his brother till the
birth of a son. He then became the guardian of the child,
who was heir to the kingdom. Some one said to him insultingly, he was sure Lycurgus would be king. Suspecting
that by this speech he might be accused of contriving a plot
against the child, and fearing that, if the child should die by
any accident, his enemies might impute its death to him, he
departed to Crete. This is said to have been the cause of his
journey. Upon his arrival in Crete he became acquainted with
Thales, the lyric poet and legislator. He learnt from this person the plan adopted by Rhadamanthus in former times, and
afterwards by Minos in promulgating their laws, so as to procure a belief that they proceeded from Jupiter. He was also
in Ægypt, and obtained information respecting the laws and
customs of that country.1 According to some writers, he met
at Chios with Homer, who was living there, and then returned to his own country, where he found Charilaus, the son
of his brother Polydectes, upon the throne. He then began to
frame laws, repairing to the god at Delphi, and bringing thence
ordinances, as Minos brought his from the cave of Jupiter.2
The greater part of these ordinances were similar to those of
Minos.

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